Beyond the Dark Horizon (rewrite)
by Jazz's Girl
Summary: Skylight Trilogy Book 2 Taken from the world she has come to call home, leaving everything she has come to love behind, Katie tries to reconstruct her life the best she can. As new friends are made and old enemies arise, will she be able to come to terms with the past? Or will the ghosts be more then she can bear?
1. Chapter 1

I don't know how long I sat there crying, curled up into the rough wall. As I started to calm down, I found myself feeling mostly numb. It felt like it went deep. Like it was a numbness of my soul. The only feeling I did have the hoarse soreness in my throat. It was irritating, but I didn't care. I could have cared less if a Decepticon came out of nowhere and shot me right now. I pushed myself away from the wall, discovering some scrapes down my arms. Guess that happened when I hit the wall. Oh well. I stood up and stumbled back, looking around at my surroundings. I was in an alley on the far side of a nearly empty dumpster.

"Oh?" I took in a shaky breath an looked up at the voice. "What do we have here?" I could barely see through the tears.

"Please..." I said, my voice hoarse and think with emotion. "Lost...I'm lost...Home gone..." I couldn't even manage a full sentence. It was all still too much. I was breaking.

"Don't worry dear. I'll help you." I tried to smile at him. I tried to thank him, but I choked on my tears. "Oy! Boys! Come see what I found!" I looked up at him surprised. More footsteps echoed in the alley.

"She cute." I heard a new voice say. Something about the way he said it had me on edge. "Hey, cutie, want to play?" He almost purred out the last word. I begun to shake.

"Now look at what you've done. She's scared." It was the first guy again. "Don't worry honey, we wont hurt you if you play along." I gulped. This was not good. This was so not good. Through the tears I could make out three guys. All were larger than me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream.

They group kept getting closer. Daddy! Papa! Someone! I was terrified. What would the point of everything Metroplex had just done for me if I just let this happen!? I had faced Decepticons for crying out loud! Not that I remembered doing that, but supposedly I did. If I could do that, then these assholes should be easy. I swallowed my fears and put on a brave face.

"Look boys, this one has some spirit left." The trio laughed. I wasn't going to let this happen. No. I was going to fight back.

Suddenly the scene before me changed. Brick became scorched metal. The men turned into red opticed mechs. I blinked my eyes and it went back to normal. This had happened before. The ravine...I heard the men laugh, probably due to the confused expression on my face. I shook my head and looked up at them. They were not going to touch me. After everything I have been through, these idiots were not going to have their way with me. My mind went fuzzy again. A fog seemed to lift in my mind, something became clear; I had done this before and I could most certainly do it now. Like a switch had been hit and I was running on autopilot. Every move sure and sound. I didn't feel afraid, I knew what I was doing.

I stood up, tears no longer falling. The men seemed to hesitate. I took that moment to strike. I ran at the nearest guy, it was the man that had found me first. I punched him square in the face, sending him stumbling back before crumpling to the ground. Without wasting a nanosecond, I twisted and swung my leg out at the guy to my left. I connected with his midsection. He went down just as the first. I paused a moment to gauge the reaction of the third guy. His face held only shock. He didn't move and I didn't feel like dealing with him if he wasn't going to make himself a threat. I quickly grabbed my suitcase from where it had fallen and brusquely made my way out of the alley and onto the sidewalk.

I wandered for what could have been breems. My only goal had been to get away from those punks. I didn't even know what direction I had taken or if I was even in the same town. The buildings had gotten more sparse and larger. Whatever. It didn't matter so long as I got away from there. A sudden breeze had me stopping and looking up at the sky. It felt like rain. It looked like rain.

No sooner had I thought that that the clouds gave way. The rain wasn't a downpour, but it was enough to make me cold and uncomfortable. I quickly moved to find shelter.

It took a few tires to find a building with an open door, but I didn't hesitate entering when I did. I sat down near the door, my suitcase next to me. I was wet and cold, but it wasn't unbearable. As I sat there, my mind started to wander. At some point I began to think about the ravine I could remember exactly what I did. How had I forgotten? My eyes widened. I couldn't remember what I had done at the ravine. No mater how hard I tried. I always got a helm ache a few flashes of color or sound. Why could I remember now?

The more I thought about it the more it didn't make sense. Just what was going on? I tried to figure out an answer. Was what Liege Maximo said about me true? More and more thoughts sifted through my already overwhelmed mind. Too much. This was too much! My head started to hurt and my vision began to swim. Soon enough my chest flared with a pain I only associated with my nightmares.

I slumped to the ground, curling up into a tight ball on the cold concrete. It hurt. It hurt so much! I closed my eyes and tried to wait out the pain. Reprieve came in an enveloping darkness.

I felt like I was floating. It was not uncomfortable though. It was nice. I could have stayed like that forever, but something told me I needed to open my eyes. So I did. All around me was nothing but a silver/blue light. I twisted and turned the best I could as I floated there. There was nothing around me. Just the silver/blue glow. Just what is going on?

"This is unexpected." I stilled. That sounded like my voice...But I hadn't had said anything. I quickly turned in the direction the voice was coming from. In front of me was a Cybertronian femme.

Her frame was a crisp white, accented with red. A chevron with a tall center peak adorned her helm. Two wheel wells jutted out from the back of her should plates, which had large pieces of armor coming off of them. Her torso was wrapped in armor in the classic femme way. Around her waist the armor sat almost like a human skirt, the front left open for mobility. Her legs were covered in more ivory armor, accented by bits of red here and there. Two more wheel wells adorned her lower legs. I met her gaze, shocked to see the same markings around her optics that I had around my eyes.

"Very unexpected." She didn't approach me. We just floated there, staring at each other.

"Who, who are you?" I asked quietly. She looked at me with a sad smile and as our gaze met once more, I found I knew the answer already. "You're me..." With a tired nod the femme sighed.

"I am the part of us that was never supposed to be awakened." That made almost no sense...

"Then what am I?" I asked, curious.

"The core. The manifestation of our spark. I am merely the memories and experiences of who we once were. We were never supposed to meet. I was to remain buried within our spark. You were to live a quiet human life. That was Primus' plan." The more she spoke the more it felt like I understood what she was saying. The more things felt familiar. It was confusing and terrifying.

"Then why? Why are we meeting?"

"Plans change. You had need of me. We needed to become who we were. It was the only way to continue with the task Primus gave to us." I nodded, still confused. "As I said, plans change. _He_ was not supposed to be freed. We were supposed to be safe. Liege was not supposed to be able to come near us..." Her voice, my voice, sounded sad and scared. "Now we are unable to complete the task."

"What was the task?" I asked. She looked up at me, optics looking eerily like my own eyes.

"To live. To find happiness in life in the way we did not before." As I thought about the task I smiled.

"We already completed it." She looked at me shocked. "While I don't remember what you remember, I just know we have already completed the mission he gave us. Think about it, we fell in love. We gained a family that loved us. Friends. Even if it was not meant to last, we still got that chance." The nightmare flashed through my mind. "We also faced Liege and survived..." My words were soft. "If we were to die now, I don't think Pimus would be angry. We completed the task we were given. Even if it was for a far shorter time than he would have liked."

"You, you are right. And I fear we just might." She looked sad.

"Die, you mean?" She nodded.

"As it stands we are dying. Us meeting is only proof." I cringed.

"I don't want to die. That's why I went through with Metroplex's plan. I wanted to live." My voice was low, and heavy with emotion.

"I know." She floated closer and placed her hands on my cheeks, pulling my head to hers until our foreheads touched. It was a strange sensation. It almost felt like I could feel my skin under her hands. Almost like there was a faint feedback loop. "There is a way for us to live, but it means giving up the human part of us."

"But we would live?" I asked.

"Yes. We would be whole again. You and me as one." I closed my eyes ans relaxed against her.

"But that wont change everything we have learned. Everything we have become."

"No it wont. But are you sure you want to remember? Our past is not a good one."  
"I think I already remember the worst of it." I felt her shift. Her hands moving from my face to hold my hands.

"Then, let us return to who we were." Her fingers intertwined with mine. "This will hurt."

I didn't even get the chance to respond as a current of electricity flowed over me, through me. As the pain intensified I started to scream. My screams echoed in the vastness around us. Or maybe that was her screaming with me. I couldn't tell. I couldn't feel anything but the pain.

Suddenly, a different noise broke through the endless screams and images flashed in the darkness behind my closed eyes. Voices, faces, names, places. It all clashed and bounced in my head. A chaotic symphony of color and sound.

Out of the chaos came understanding. I knew these places, these people. I knew which face went with what name. I knew so many thing I hadn't before, yet, it felt like I had always known. Things I could do, skills I had. Everything was beginning to make sense.

Eventually the still images began to move. Pictures into short films. Memories, my mind told me. My memories. Emotions soon paired with the memories. Pain and fear, joy and contentment. Everything was coming together. More images, more mini-movies, more feelings linked with each. Then darkness. I felt myself breathing heavily, but the reprieve was short lived. A new voice flooded my head. One I knew all too well.

 _"_ _Die!"_ A pain radiated through my chest, as I shot up, my eyes opening wide with the searing pain. Then it was gone, as quickly as it came. I sat there on my knees for a long time. My breath was uneven and heavy, like I had just run a marathon up hill. The images remained. The voices and names, were still there. Memories. That's what they were. My memories.

I collapsed onto the concrete and let its' coolness relieve the feverish state I was in. Too much. It was too much.

"I am Deltus Prime..." I whispered, tears once more falling from my eyes. _He_ had been right about that. But I am _not_ what he said I was. I was the Fourteenth Prime. The Guardian of the Allspark. The Commander of the Knights of Cybertron. "I am still Katie." I whispered again. I was Katie. I smiled to myself as I surrendered to the darkness. Nothing had changed. Not really...


	2. Chapter 2

Everything was beginning to spiral out of control. Nothing was as he had planned it! She had escaped. Yet there was good news. Her actions seemed to have convinced nearly all the Autobots of her guilt. Why else would she run? He grinned. Perhaps he wouldn't even need to get his servos dirty. Who to send though? It would need to be a small number and have the greatest impact on her. After all if could shatter her world a little more then she would be that much easier to control. That meant those pesky twins were out of the question. They were still to wrapped up in her to be of any use.

Using anyone that wasn't the least bit close to her wouldn't benefit his plans at all. It would be like sending a Decepticon after her. Meaningless. The Second and Third in Command were also off limits. They were needed for the everyday function of the Autobots. Why did she have to befriend mechs of such ranks? He nearly growled. That left the Security Director and his friend and that bonded couple, the ones that took care of her. If he could convince at the very minimum three of them to go and retrieve her, then it would be an easy victory for him.

He smiled. He would have to observe the four closely, but he already had an idea of who he wanted to send. From what he had heard the Security Director was paranoid. If he pushed the right buttons and painted the right picture, he was sure the mech would easily side with him. At the very least he wanted one of her former Guardians to bring her in. That would be the most devastating. Now, to gather information...

()()()

Metroplex was beyond livid. He could hear what the Autobots were saying about his Prime. They seemed to have forgotten that he was their base. It made him want to activate his holoform and wring their necks!

He kept his scanners closely on a few mechs. They were worse off then most seemed to realize. He needed to do something, and fast. At this rate, she would not even have a home to come back to.

I wasn't sure how long I had been passed out for, but when I came to, my body was stiff and sore. I groaned as I sat up. Memories flashed through my mind, causing me to cringe. Right. That happened. I ran a servo down my face plates, only a little surprised that I was still in a human form. So it seemed that I had my species mimicry ability. Good. It will make things easier on me for the time being.

I stood up and stretched, loosening the sore joints. I looked around absentmindedly. Looks like I ended up in a warehouse of sorts. Though it didn't look it had been used in awhile, despite the several shipping containers that sat about the room. Light was trickling in through the grimy windows near the second floor catwalk. It allowed me to see the room a little better, not that I needed it. I was no longer human. I might look like it, but I was no more human then a Pretender was.

I continued to look around until something caught my optic. I walked over. The floor was covered in a decent layer of dust. The only places that should be disturbed was where I had fallen and my footsteps. But here it was. It almost looked like something large had been dragged. I looked to my left. A large garage door was nestled into the wall. I looked to my right and almost jumped out of my psudo skin. There was a Cybertronian just lying there. Okay then.

I kept my steps light and quiet as I moved closer to the mech. I could see that he was injured. The neon green of his energon was a stark contrast to the white on his armor. He was hurt bad. I circled around, hoping that I could get a better idea of who it was. I stopped when I reached his face plates. My spark about stopped. I had found an offlined Decepticon and not just any Decepticon.

"Slag..." I cursed quietly. "It's Barricade..."

I just stood there staring at the unmoving mech. I shifted slightly, shuffling backwards, my optics never leaving his frame. I let my gaze sweep quickly over his frame, cringing as I took in the damage. He was is rough shape. I stopped my retreat and hesitantly stepped forward. He didn't react. I got a little braver and moved another step closer. Still nothing. Boldly, I walked up to him and laid a servo on his armor.

"What has left you in this state?" I whispered.

It was then I felt a tug at my spark. It wasn't often that I felt such things. I wasn't even sure I had really felt anything. It had been so faint. Closing my eyes, I focused on nothing but my spark. Releasing the mental binds on my power I pushed outward, sending a light shock wave of energy over Barricade. It wasn't anything much. It couldn't repair the damage. It was just a more in depth form of scanning. It was my preferred method of searching for injuries as there was no way to mask or hide and injury. It also allowed to me to test the strength the mech's spark and I wanted to see if his spark was in danger. Usually, I felt a light tug at my spark whenever a spark was endanger of doing one of two things: fading or splitting. I gasped as I felt his spark react to my energy pulse.

"Shit." I said, not even bothering to keep my voice down. His spark was splitting. That meant only one thing; He had been created out of another mech. Great. A reformatting. I removed my servo as I begun to feel movement. I looked him over again, ignoring the fact that he was waking up, if only a little. He was in rough shape. Even if I did safely divide the spark and frame, there was a good chance I wouldn't be able to the more severe injuries. It was gonna take a lot of energy to just separate the two of them. I sighed. I didn't know if this was gonna kill me or not, but I couldn't just leave them here to suffer.

Barricade shifted again, groaning this time. I placed my servo back on him and sent a small pulse through his systems, sending them into an induced stasis lock. That should keep him out for awhile. I pulled back, turned and made my way back to the door I had entered through. I set my suitcase beside the door, pulling it from the dust floor. I opened it, looking out to make sure that there was no one around.

When I was sure no one would see me leave, I walked out and pulled the door closed. I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to locate an internet or 4G. Once I did I ran a quick GPS search to find my location and where the nearest town was. I needed to get quite a few things if I was going to fix him up enough to where the procedure would, hopefully, work. I was nervous. This wasn't my normal gig. The last time I did this I had my full spark, not the partial thing beating within my chest plates. I shook my head. No point in getting worked up about it. I was going to do this. If it killed me, well I guess I that was that. But to minimize the potential for that, I needed to get as many of the injuries fixed as I could before I divided the spark. Fortunately, the shipping containers could be used as material to help me form a new frame for the original half. It was easier then forming one from nothing. But as it was, I was running out of time.

I took off running, only stopped as a reached the first stop on my list; A U-haul depot. Now, to rent a pick-up or small van. It was easy enough to do. They didn't question me or harass me about credentials as much as I thought they were going to. The pick-up I got though, would do just fine. I hopped in and drove to the nearest hardware store. I picked up as many of the tools and equipment that I could get from there. The clerk looked at me funny, but I made up a sob story about losing most of my tools in a fire. Not only did the clerk express his sympathies, but he also gave me a decent discount. Not that I need him to. Metroplex had prepared a significant amount of funds for me to use. I continued on from one store to the next, getting more equipment and supplies. A couple of stops at the local Nappa and Autozone and I had gotten almost everything I needed. As I wasn't sure what to expect, I had to prepare for anything I could think of. It wasn't everything that I had hopped to find, but it was a rather large chunk of it.

I drove back to the warehouse, parking by the old loading bay entrance. The same one I suspected that Barricade had come through, if the energon stains were anything to go by. I scanned for any signals coming from the door. Thank Primus there was still electricity going to the building...I opened the door up just enough to get the truck through, then promptly shut it. No point in alerting the local authorities.

I unloaded as much as I could and set to work. It was going to turn out to be a long night. Thankfully, I had rented the truck for a few a few days and had had the foresight to invest in a bit of camping equipment. It would do me no good for anyone if I couldn't rest at some point. I set the cot up in an empty shipping container with a broken lock. This was the only one that would remain once I was through and would serve as a make shift quarters until I was finished with the repairs and figured out where to go from here. After I moved my suitcase into the shipping container I began to assess the mech's injuries. It was extensive, but nothing I couldn't handle, even in this form.

I shook my head and started working on the major repairs. It was gonna take me awhile to get him near stable. I would only be able to work a few hours today, as the light from the high windows was already fading. I don't want to use lamps or other lights in case it was spotted and someone came to investigate. The truck was out of sight, hidden inside the building. For now we were safe and I could concentrate on the task at servo.

I worked until I had no more light. Putting down my equipment, I returned to my temporary container home. I would finish the repairs tomorrow, if I got lucky.


	3. Chapter 3

Metroplex stood in the Prime's office. Or rather his mech sized holoform did. After all, he kinda _was_ the office. Optimus was sitting behind his desk just looking at him. He had been called by the Prime. Metroplex had contemplated not answering the summons, but as Liege did not yet know of his presence, it might just be his chance to set things straight.

"Metroplex.: Optimus began. "For vrons now you have served as the Autobots base. You have never once, to my knowledge, have done anything to put any of the mechs under your watch in danger. Yet, upon Liege Maximo's apperance, you went against the decisions I made. You have gone against my orders as Prime and..." Metroplex raised his servo. While he knew Optimus would not be able to hear his voice it did not mean that he couldn't use the hologram generators located within the office to create a message board of sorts. His holoform dissolved and a floating white-gray rectangle took its place.

 _'Had I not sent her away, she would have died.'_ Optimus shook his helm.

"I highly doubt it would have come to that, Metroplex. I only wanted to speak with Katie and Liege together. To see if we could not have figured out what was going on."

 _'You know nothing young Prime. Liege Maximo is a master of manipulation and deceit. He was leading you on from the start. He had no intention of just talking.'_ Before Optimus could respond, Metroplex once more changed the hologram. This time, it was of a child, a youngling femme, with white armor, accented with red. She was sitting down with her helm down turned, obscuring her face plates. Her servos were clenched together momentarily before she released them. Between her palms was a silvery blue orb. Optimus' optics widened. It was a spark. She had a spark between her servos.

He watched as she raised her arms and released the spark upwards. It grew in size before disappearing beyond the edge of the hologram. Optimus was taken aback for a moment as he saw the femme's face plates, noticing first the City speaker markings, then the overall appearance. The marking told him that it was Deltus Prime, as Liege had said, but the face, it looked far to much like a younger version of the human femme he had come to know. The optics, the same shade as her eyes, held that same guarded gaze. Words appeared above the still moving image.

 _'This is the creation of the Titan, Prion. By this point, Deltus had already created the rest of us Titans. As such, she was nearly drained of all of her power. She was still very young at this time and was not yet used to her power. Despite this, the elder Primes still made her create us.'_ The words faded as a new person appeared in the background, having just entered the room. It was a mech, large and regal, with a horned helm. Optimus already had a pretty good idea of who this mech was, his suspicions confirmed as the mech moved closer.

The youngling's arms dropped to the ground as she leaned heavily on them. Even though it was an old recording, he could still hear the sound of her cooling fan kicking in. Her frame was shuddering and a small trickle of energron, bright against her light gray face plate, dripped onto the floor. Liege stopped just behind the femme, a sneer firmly in place on his lip components. He stood quietly optics assessing the femme, before using one of his peds he roughly knock her to the ground with a 'thud'. Optimus jumped slightly at the sudden action. He hadn't been expecting that.

 _"_ _Zizet." Weak._ The holographic Liege said before turning and walking away, leaving the young Deltus alone. The recording continued for several breems with the femme lying on her side, her cooling fan never ceasing. Eventually, a figure that looked shocking like himself, walked into the room. The mech paused only briefly before he ran to the young femme's side.

 _"_ _Sahie'xic!"_ _Little Sister!_ The mech called out. Kneeling down her gently pulled her into his arms.

 _"_ _Kae, tive narn...Dahie?" Did, I do good...Brother?_ The femme whispered back. The mech nodded, pulling the femme even closer.

 _"_ _Vitin pren." The best._ He whispered back, causing the youngling to smile, optics shining. The image faded after that, a white-gray box returning.

 _'In creating us, she nearly killed herself. This was but one of many instances where she was nearly pushed to far by the Old Primes.'_ The words faded. Nothing was written for several long moments. _'For you to understand the situation at servo, you need to know the truth of what she is and what she can do. Deltus Prime was created at the request of the Original Thirteen Primes to be the very spark of Cybertron. Though, they had asked for the power to sustain Cybertron should they not be present. They were not pleased when Primus gave them a new sibling to raise. Instead of accepting His will, they began to devise a way to separate the power from her. Agreeing after much deliberation to allow the femme to grow and cultivate the power before separating it from her. Solus Prime was to create the device that would steal the power from her, while Prime would use it when they determined her power to be at its peak._ The words stayed until Optimus motioned the Titan to continue.

 _'As the vrons went by several of the Primes – Vector Prime, Alpha Trion, Megatronus Prime, and the Thirteenth Prime – began to see the femme as a person rather than an object and began to teach her, play with her. Treat her as the family she was.'_

"Megatronus Prime?" Optimus asked, recognizing the name. He would have asked about Alpha Trion, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

 _'Yes. Before he became The Fallen, he was one of the few who supported Deltus. It nearly destroyed her when he return to Cybertron as the mech you know as The Fallen. She curled up in her quarters within my walls and cried. Perhaps, it would be best to continue this conversation there.'_

"Her quarters still exist?" Optimus asked surprised.

 _'Yes. There are several floors that no one has had access to in many generations. They are not a part of my floor plans either. That is why you are unaware of them. Please go to the nearest lift. I will lead you from there.'_ The hologram disapated after a breem.

When It became obvious that Metroplex was not going to continue 'speaking' with him, he rose from his chair and left his office. He would be lying if he said he was not curious about these 'hidden floors' that Metroplex talked about. He hesitated only briefly as he reached the closest lift. Upon entering he waited until the doors had shut before speaking.

"Alright Metroplex. Where am I headed?"

()()()

It took me days to prepare the shipping crates for the procedure and get Barricade to a less life threatening state. His injuries had been worse then I had originally thought, but I had dealt with worse. I shifted forms as needed, as some of the repairs required large sections of plating to be removed, something that I could not do in my 'human' form.

Today I was taking a short break. I had done all I could repair wise. Now came the stressful part. I still was unsure if doing this was going to kill me or not, but I wasn't just going to let them die. I knew too many who I had not gotten to in time. This time though, I would make it. They would live.

After stealing my mind, I shifted back into my true form and knelt down next to the offlined mech. It was now or never. Time was fading quickly. It had to be now.

I laid both of my servos on his chest plating just over his spark. I offlined my optics and focused on my power. I envisioned it coming forth and flowing from my spark into my frame. I imagined it collecting in both of my servos. I held the thought until I knew enough power had amassed. Mentally I pushed the power forward into my hands, then into Barricade's frame.

Now came the really tricky part. Keeping my mind clear of all other tasks, I went to work simultaneously splitting his spark as it wanted to and reinforcing each spark until they were both stable. Pulling back one servo, I moved so I Barricade to my right. I sent out a small shock wave, activating the small amounts of power I had stored in the shipping containers and left over supplies. Concentrating on the newly divided sparks, I tugged at the older half, pulling it to my let servo. Releasing another mini shock wave, I gathered the materials and began to form a basic protoframe. Once that was complete, I allowed the spark to guide me on how the armor was to look. As soon as the mech's armor was finished, I focused on repairing what little damage was left to Barricade. There was not much left, but there was some things that I could not fix with the meager supplies that I had.

I finalized the frames, ensuring that each spark would take to it, before pulling my power back into me. I let go and shifted back into my human form. I was shaking, I could feel it. I slowly stood and, with all the grace of a drunkard, managed to get back to the shipping container. Using the sides as support I found my way to the cot and sat down roughly on it. My head was pounding and my chest burning. I was nauseous and exhausted. I pulled my legs onto the cot, somehow getting my shoes off in the process, and laid down. My vision swam as the pounding got worse. Fortunately, recharge drug me under before the pain could increase. Hopefully when I woke up, all three of us would be in good repair.

When morning came, I was back at it again, seeming to repeat the previous day in full. The only difference, by 3 pm I had finished the last of the accessable injuries. I smiled. It wasn't the prettiest job, but he wouldn't know. My power would smooth out any flaws or missed wounds. At least he was alive.

I continued to look at him.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up and groaned as a massive helm ache made itself known. It was like I had spent the entire night doing nothing but getting wasted on high grade. I groaned again and shifted. It was always like this after I split a spark...not that I did this all that often. I pushed myself up. I needed to go check on them. I swung my legs over the side of the cot and stood up.

()()()

A faint clamor jerked him out of stasis, his systems slowly beginning to activate. After a few long moments, a muted 'THUD' and a muffled 'Who put that there!?' rang out in the otherwise quiet room. He bolted up, forcing his systems into action. He sent out the signal to his weapons system, but only received an 'ERROR' message. He tried again only to get the same response. Running a quick diagnostic and found that his weapons systems had been disabled.

A faint shuffling had him turning to an open sipping container not far off to his left. He ran a scan of it and found that there was a human sized Cybertronian signature inside. _Probably a pretender._ He thought to himself as he scanned the container again picking up on some human gear this time in addition to the the Cybertronian signature. He searched his memories. He remembered coming to the building alone. He was critically injured and his spark felt as if it was about to explode. He ran a self diagnostic, surprised as he found that all his injuries were repaired and that his spark was stable. Just what was going on? Had the pretender fixed him? As he lost himself to his thought, he didn't realize that the small Cybertronian had exited the container and was looking at him.

"Oh, good. At least one of you is up." It said, causing him to jerk his helm in its direction and try to activate his weapons system again. He growled when he received the 'ERROR' message a third time. "If your worried about your weapons, I disabled them. Didn't want you killing me before I could make sure all your repairs took."

He glared at the smaller Cybertronian. He had been right it was a Pretender. A femme at that. She had the appearance of a young human femme. Her hair was short and light blond, almost silvery in the muted light. Her clothes were simple, black pants and boots with a red tank top. On her arms were several symbols, some he knew others he didn't. To any human they might be mistaken for tattoos, but he knew that they were Cybertronian in origin. What unnerved him the most though, were the markings around her optics. She wasn't just a Pretender. Oh, no. She was also a City Speaker. He had never met one before, but had hear about them and their ties to the Titans.

The femme stood quietly as he observed her, a small smile on her lip components. He frowned. It was hard to tell what she was thinking. A small flash of silver caught his optic. Around her neck on a simple chain was a small Autobot insignia. He tensed before pushing himself onto his peds and crouched in a defensive position. The femme only blinked at him before laughing.

"Stop that Autobot!" He ground out, only making the femme laugh harder.

"S-sorry." She said as her laughter subsided. "I was expecting to be attacked. You're actions caught me off guard. I mean, you're far larger then I am. I guess I wasn't really expecting you to get defensive. Also, I'm not an Autobot." He was quiet as he searched her words for lies.

"You wear their insignia." He simply stated. The femme seemed surprised for a moment before reaching up and placing a servo on the necklace.

"Heh. Forgot I had this on." She muttered, almost to low for him to hear. Her helm was town turned as she gripped the charm. "This was a gift from someone important to me. I wear it to remind myself of happier times." She looked up at him. "But I'm not an Autobot. I guess, you could say I'm a neutral." She paused. "I can take it off it bothers you."

He didn't know what to do. The femme did not seem to be threatening. Rather the opposite. Even as she wore the insignia of his enemy, there was this feeling that she could be trusted. That she would not harm him. He growled, engine revving slightly as his anger flared at his confusion.

"Is something wrong?" His optics snapped back to her. She was looking up at him in concern.

"What did you do to me?" He growled down at her. He moved to reach out and grab her, but the conflicting feelings came again. He couldn't bring himself to do it. "What. Did. You. Do!?" He asked again, anger flaring again. He watched as the femme tilted her helm slightly in confusion before her optics widened in what he can only assume is recognition.

"Slag! I'm sorry!" She all but shouted at him. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, but your spark, it wasn't stable...a-and I had to use my power to stabilize it. Its kind of a residual thing. It wont last long. Maybe an orn? Two at most." He didn't understand half of what she was rambling about, but it was apparent that she did something and that something had her getting very upset. For some reason it bothered him.

"Enough." He said, trying hard to not let the foreign feelings get to him. "Explain. Everything. Now." She looked up at him, optics wide and fearful, before looking towards the ground. It was obvious that she was afraid. Again, the feelings began to get the better of him.

"You wont believe me." She said quietly, raising her helm some, looking to a point beyond him. He glanced in that direction and stiffened. There was another mech in the room. He tried to activate his weapons, irritated as he was reminded that they were offline. "Wait! Don't hurt him!" The femme yelled, running in between the mech and himself. "He's your brother!" He about stalled out at the femme's words. He didn't have a brother. At least he didn't remember having one, but he had been told that he had suffered some head trauma after a bad fight with the Autobots resulting in memory loss. So he couldn't be sure if she was lying to him or not.

"I hate this part..." The femme said before looking him in the eye. "Before I explain anything, I want you to answer some questions." He was about to tell her off, but something stopped him. He was sure if it was the way her optics burned with understanding and age, or if it was the strength she suddenly was giving off. Pit, it could have been those slagging feelings again, but he found himself nodding.

"Fine." She looked almost relieved for a moment before it disappeared, making him question if it was even there at all.

"Do you have no memories from a before a single point?" He froze. How had she known that? "You've had to be treated for near spark failure several times, many of which were not the result of battle damage." This one wasn't a question. "No matter what you were told, the world around you has felt off. As if there was some big secret that you were not privy too." Again, not a question. She knew. How, he didn't know, but she knew. His greatest weaknesses, things very few knew, and she did. Apparently taking his silence as an answer she sighed. "I knew it..."

"What?" She looked up at him, a sad gleam in her optics.

"What happened to you, the cause for your lack of memories, for the spark pain, for everything, it's well, it's complicated." She looked him in the optic. "What I am about to tell you will change how you see yourself. It will make you call everything you have ever known into question. I can tell you everything, like you asked, but it may break you." She paused. "Or I can just tell you a simplified version. A version that will keep most of the pain away."

He was tempted to take the second option, but he had never been one to run from a fight. Why would he start now.

"Tell me everything." She smiled sadly.

"I thought you might say that. Please listen to everything I have to say. It will be a lot of information and it will be world shattering. But I need you to understand it from the beginning. And please, remember, from the moment I chose to save you, your past no longer matters." He nodded, not quite understanding what she was getting at.

"A long time ago," The femme began, her voice taking on a similar feel as her optics. "There was an invasion of Cybertron by a race known as the Quintessions." Though he recalled no such tale in Cybertronian history, something about the look on the femme's face made it hard to refute. "They wished to control Cybertron. To rule it's people, despite it being on of Cybertron's Thirteen Primes who had created them." She paused briefly. "Whether out of spite for their creator or to prove their superiority, they attacked. Cybertron was not ready. It was not prepared. It's leaders were gone, lost to their desires in the far reaches of space. The enemy gained the upper servo and hope seemed lost.

"Warriors eventually came forth and fought against the invaders." The femme continued, her optics still shining brightly in the dim light filtering in through the grimy windows. "Many fell, but many more were taken. Experimented on in an attempt to create a weapon to combat the rising threat to the invaders." He really didn't like where this was going.

"They used the mechs they had captured and took from them all that they were. They took from them their memories, suppressing or erasing their personality. Rewriting their code to suit the invaders' needs. They took mechs and reformatted them into living drones. Living weapons. For the sole purpose of serving them loyally without question." She seemed to hesitate, mouth opening and closing several times before she fisted her servos and took in a breath.

"I don't know who it was that preformed the procedure, but they took that mech," The femme pointed at the still offlined mech. "And from him, made you." He quickly locked optics with her, trying desperately to find fault with her words. Between the look on fer face plates to the tone of her voice, he couldn't find any lies. She wholly believed what she was saying.

"The procedure is called 'reformatting'. As for what I did, I saved you from the fate so many others who have been reformatted face. Death. Reformatting is dangerous and deadly. In the end, if not done right, it can and will kill. And in some rare cases, it can kills not only one mech but two. The host spark, and the derivative spark." It was like all the pieces he hadn't even known was missing fell into place. Everything made sense now; Megatron's interest in him, the spark pain, why it seemed that everyone around him kept their distance. Everything was adding up for the first time and it ended with him not existing.

()()()

There was never an easy way to explain to some one that they were not supposed to exist. That they were created to be a tool from the remains of another. I walked over to him. He was volatile and unstable emotionally at the moment, but if I had learned something from all the times I've had to do this is it was not best to let them that they are alone. I placed my hand on his. He flinched at my touch. I looked up at him.

"It will be alright." I say to him. He pulls his servo from mine and growls.

"Alright! You just said that I, that I...!" He shouted. I nodded.

"I know what I said. But I also said that no longer matters. You exist and from the moment I saved you, you were meant to exist." I turned and walked over to where the host spark still lay in stasis. It didn't surprise me. His spark had been through much. It would take time to heal, even with my intervention.

"Why? Why does it matter that you saved me or not!?" He was distraught.

"Why did you come here? To this planet?" I asked as I reached out again, laying my servo on his arm.

"Why? I was sent here to find the Allspark... Not that it matters anymore..." I pat his arm drawing his attention to me. Holding up my free servo, I pulled my power into it. A thin electric current flashed and wove around my digits.

"That power I mentioned earlier, the cause of your ease around me, its because of what I am." He stared at me, optics wide with shock. I smiled up at him as I let my power fade. "I am the original Allspark. What you call the Allspark is but a small fragment of my own spark. As my power is similar to Primus' when it is used on a spark it can put them to ease. I can create sparks and, at times, bring back the dead. From the moment I chose to save you, you became your own existence, not a shadow of another."


	5. Chapter 5

He couldn't believe it. No matter what he had just seen, no matter what his sensors just told him. He just couldn't believe that this little Pretender femme was actually the All spark. There was just no way that he could believe it. Yet, he couldn't deny that he had felt better then he had had in vrons. His chest did not hurt. He couldn't believe it, but he found himself wanting to.

He wanted to chalk up the feeling to, whatever it was that she did to. To the conflicting feelings. Yet, he found himself thinking that maybe there was hope for Cybertron. If she was the All spark, maybe then he could go home. Maybe, just maybe...

Barricade watched as the femme ran some scans on his, how he hated to say it, brother. Despite how much he did not want to believe it, he had no reason not to.

"So that's him?" Barricade asked, disgust lacing every word. She nodded. Barricade stood and walked over to him.

"You are tied together Barricade. He is your brother now. If he dies, so do you. You sparks are still one, just inhabiting two separate frames." He looked down at the femme. She had a distance look in her optics, as if she were remembering something. It almost seemed like she had dealt with this sort of thing before. He would be lying if he wasn't curious about it. After a few long minutes of internal debate he decided to at least get that question answered.

"Oi. Femme." He said gruffly, pulling her from her thoughts

"Yes?"

"You've dealt with this," He struggled to find the right word. "Situation, before." She shook her head. She said looking up at him with a small, sad smile.

"It was a really long time ago. Before the Cybertron you know existed. As I said, creatures had invaded our world. They sought to control us and didn't care how. Most of the time there was little we could do for the reformatted ones. Some we were able to save and return them to how they wee. Most though, we could only make comfortable as they died. But, a few times we found those in a situation like yours. Sometimes when they found out they would kill them selves. Other times they would kill each other. To be honest, only one set of twins even tried to live; Surefire and Lock up." She paused a small smile on her lip components.

"Surefire was a bright eyed and eager mech. Always curious and not afraid to ask questions. He was just a youngling when the Quintessions took him. He readily accepted his bother. Didn't even question it. Said that if Primus didn't want Lock Up to exist, he wouldn't have had me there to save them. Lock Up on the other hand was quiet and not really a conversationalist. He wasn't a fan of crowds and hated being questioned. He followed orders and waited for the next set to come. It took him awhile to warm up to his brother, but once he did they became inseparable. Surefire would always end up in some situation or another and Lock Up would end up bailing him out.

"To be honest, you took things better then Lock Up did. He ended up punching me and tried to kill me once he woke up." It sounded like she she was trying to make a joke, but he didn't feel much like laughing.

"So I'm not the first that's had this happen..." He said. Still trying to wrap his processor around it.

"No, but I hope you're the last. No one should go through that. No one should be told they aren't meant to exist." Something in her voice drew his attention. He studied her for a moment. She wore a rueful smile and her optics held a deep pain, but it was gone in a moment. Like it had never been there. Her optics as bright as ever and her smile gentle.

"You're hiding something." Was all he said. She laughed, the sound like emptiness wrapped in cheer.

"Not really." She responded, with a shrug. "I just know what it's like to be told that your existence is a mistake. Most of my elder siblings used to tell me that a lot growing up." She paused. "The war your knew would not have happened if I never existed. Many wars wouldn't have happened. If anything, I'm just a curse." Her optics took on a dullness. Once more it was smothered, a calm glow taking its place. "But let's not dwell on what cannot be changed. It helps nothing."

Barricade stared at her in confusion. She had sort of answered one question, but now he had more. Great. Just great.

"By the way, you can call me Katie." She gave him a warm smile as she looked up at him.

"Barricade."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Barricade." There was nothing in her voice that said she was patronizing him. Though, he suspected that it was that fragging 'calming effect' she had on him.

He was about to respond, when the sound of shifting metal caught his attention. He quickly turned, optics trained on the only other mech in the room. Said mech groaned and shifted again. His optics onlined and he sat up holding his helm. Barricade felt his spark begin to race. His 'brother' had just woken up. The mech he had been made from was awake. He had yet to really figure out what to do when he woke up, having done a good job of not thinking about it. A gentle touch on his leg caused him to jump slightly and look down, pulling him from his overwhelming thoughts. The femme was there, her small servo resting on him in silent support.

"It'll be alright. I'll be here the whole time." He didn't want to say it, but the thought was comforting. Knowing that he had some support eased his mind and his spark, even if it was just a little. Her smile was warm and her optics were understanding. If he hadn't had better restraint of himself he may have just broke down and clutched her to him. But he wasn't weak. He was better then that, but still, he was glad to know he had someone on his side. Especially since he didn't know what side was his anymore.

The mech shook his helm a few times before checking out his surroundings, optics stopping when they fell on the odd pair. The mech tensed up and proceeded to fall into a defensive position.

Barricade glanced down at the femme as she sighed.

"Barricade, could you tell him to access the internet and become familiar with English? I'm afraid I will be of no use since I don't know modern Cybertronian." She paused looking up at him, a defeated look in her optics.

"Perhaps, when this is over, I'll teach ya." The way her optics lit up almost made him smile. "Ya know, to pay you back for saving me." She smiled up at him warmly. He felt himself smile back. It was small, more of a twitch of the mouth plates, but it was still a smile. He turned to the other mech, apprehension swelling in his spark.

He stared at his 'brother,' optics meeting. His spark shuttered as those blue optics stared intently into his. He wouldn't show his fear. He wouldn't. Barricade cycled air. It was now or never.

 _ **"Hey."**_ The mech's gaze, which had begun to wander, immediately locked with his own. " _ **The inhabitants of this planet have a world wide digital network. It is easily accessible and should allow you to get to know the planets major languages. I'd focus on the language called 'English' for now. It's the only one the femme here knows."**_ He explained as quickly as he could. Primus this was awkward. He shifted slightly, adverting his gaze. He felt the light pressure of the femme's servo on his leg. Looking down she gave a smile, pride and understanding swirling in her optics.

"It will get easier with time. I promise." It was disturbing just how understanding the femme was. He didn't need to say anything. She just _knew._ It was both comforting and unnerving. He felt the femme shift beside him. Looking down he say her shifting her weight from one leg to the other. She had been standing whole time and from the looks of things it was going to be a lot longer still. He vented slightly, not believing he was about to this.

"Katie." He used her designation for the first time. He lowered his servo in front of her. She looked at it then up at him, confusion etched onto her face. "Climb on." Was all he said, adverting his optics. He felt her hesitate and she climbed onto his palm. Gently he raised her up to his shoulder. "Sit there so your out of the way." He said gruffly, though in his helm he was adding another thought to the sentence. _And maybe he wont shoot me if you're sitting there._ She felt her weight shift and felt her little servos gently and carefully grabbing and clutching at his armor. She was being careful he noted. Very careful. She was to considerate.

"The languages of this planet are very similar to Ancient Cybertronian." The mech across from him said. "More primitive, but similar." The femme on his shoulder giggled.

"It does, doesn't it? I hadn't thought of that." She smiled up at the now awake mech, her blue optics brightening slightly. "Conpaem arstu Viactein? (1)" Katie said, startling both mechs. Barricade stared at her then at the mech then back down at his passenger. His brother was staring at her as well, shock brightening his optics and raising his optic ridges comically.

"T-tive.(2)" He tilted his helm slightly, confusion evident, as if he was unsure of what words to say next. "Ta'axic. D-defive is...ht naeur...(3)"

"Ackoxe.(4) You speak well, for someone who is still learning." Katie hummed and nodded.

"And you speak it with no difficulties." Barricade glanced between the two, unsure if this was a good thing or not.

"I should, seeing as it was my first language." Once more Barricade was left wanting to stall. He knew that the femme had said that she was the All spark, but, well, it didn't really click just how old the femme must actually be. Fortunately, he was not the only one confused. His 'brother' also stood in shock. After a few long moments Katie spoke up again.

"We should probably get down to business." It wasn't a question. The mech across from him immediately responded, stiffening and looking his gaze on them. Barricade tried not to let it get to him. But he'd be lying if he said this wasn't fraying his nerves a little. "First off, let's start with introductions. For now, please just call me Katie. This here is Barricade." The mech nodded as Katie pointed to herself and then at him. "We are both currently Neutral." Not entirely a lie.

"I am Prowl. Second in Command of the Autobots and head of the Autobots Tactical Division." The mech, Prowl, said, formally. Barricade felt his spark stop momentarily. _That_ was the mech they had used to create him? The Autobot's Second in... He really was about to stall.

()()()()()()()

 **Translations:**

Conpaem arstu Viactein? – You speak old/Ancient Cybertronian?

T-tive – I-I do.

Ta'axic. D-defive is...htnaeur... – A little. I-I am st-ill learning.

Ackoxe. – I see.


	6. Chapter 6

When the doors opened, Optimus was hesitant to step out. Outside the lift the hall stretched on like any of the other floors he had been on. In fact, had he not known that this was a hidden floor he would have thought that it was any other floor.

He exited the lift, his foot steps kicking up small clouds of dust, the only indication that no one had been here in a very long time. He was only half surprised when light began to glow overhead, leading him down the hallway to a juncture then taking him to the left. He did not know where Metroplex was leading him, but Deltus Primes quarters.

A few more turns and several long hallways later, the lights ended in front of a lone door. The door's control pad was a design the Prime had only seen in history files. Had this floor really been abandoned for that long? The door opened and the lights inside the room came to life. Optimus' fans hitched as he took a step beyond the doorway.

The room itself was nothing special, small even. His office was larger. Nothing like what he would expect out of a Prime, even a young one. The berth sat against the far wall. A desk sat adjacent to the door, an old easel was propped up next to it. The chair was pushed in and the desk top sat neat and tidy, only a few stray data pads and a small metal box pushed towards the back showed that it had even been used at all.

"Why is it so empty? Didn't you say that your were taking me to Deltus Prime's quarters?" Optimus asked, confused. The large box returned, floating in front of him, over the berth, much like it had in his office.

 _This is her quarters. She never was one to collect personal items. Her quarters reflected her upbringing in away._ Metroplex responded. Optimus was not liking what he was hearing. He glanced around the room. If the room reflected how she was raised, then what exactly did an empty room, rid of all but the most basic things say about her? Duty first? Or maybe that she was not worth having personal items? The questions kept coming.

"Metroplex..." Optimus said, voice catching as he looked around. He walked over to the desk. "Ironhide told me that on of the reasons why Katie attempted to take her own life was that she did not feel her life was worth anything. If Deltus is Katie, did she feel that way as well?" He turned to the floating message board.

 _Unfortunately, yes._ He felt his systems slip as he read those words. _As I told you earlier, she was not wanted by the Old Primes. She was raised to cultivate her power, nothing more. It took too long for even a few of them to see that they were wrong. By then,the damage had already been done. She lived only for her duty, not for the sake of living._ His optics widened slightly at the words. He turned away, guilt ate at his spark. Guilt he did not understand. He placed his servos on the desk, leaning heavily on them. He was angry, at Metroplex, at Deltus, at himself. It had come suddenly and was unexpected.

He balled one servo into a fist and slammed it into the old desk, small cracks radiating out from the impact. The small box jumped and bounced closer to him. Amidst his confused and angry mind, just seeing the box brought with it a calm nostalgia. He reached out for it, unaware that Metroplex had reformed his holoform and was reaching for his servo.

Optimus' digits brushed the surface and sent a shock wave of energy through him, knocking the large mech back. His systems, overstimulated with energy, began to overheat. Warning flashed across his HUD as his joints grew weak and sent him to the ground.

Metroplex had not thought Optimus would react so strongly to what he was saying. He had defiantly not thought that he would reach out and touch Deltus' training cube. There was a good bit of power trapped within the small box. Optimus had gotten a rather large shock out of it. The only thing he could do was use his holoform to lie the large mech down and pray to Primus that he would be alright.

()()()

I stared at well, Prowl is shock. Wasn't really expecting that. I mean, sure he kind of reminded me or Prowl appearance wise and all, not to mention the fanfiction back in _that_ dimension. But I hadn't really put much stock into it. As it turns out, I was wrong. Very wrong.

I glanced at Barricade. He was shocked. Carefully I moved closer t his face and placed one of my servos on his cheek.

"Barricade? Hey, it's okay. It's going to be okay. Alight?" I spoke lightly, tapping him gently with my servo. Barricade began mutter to himself in modern Cybertronian. His voice panicked, disbelief evident. This wasn't good. I glanced at Prowl he seemed to be very interested in Barricade's actions, or maybe his words. As Barricade's voice grew hysterical, Prowl began to get more agitated. I gripped Barricade's armor harder. This was getting out of hand, quickly.

It wasn't until I saw Prowl reaching for his subspace, no doubt to get some sort of weapon that was stashed in there, as I had disabled his weapons systems, that I knew I would have to act. This wasn't an easy situation to begin with. A weapon would just make things worse.

Just as Prowl was pulled out a small gun I launched myself from the former Decpticon's shoulder. I undid all the mental locks I had on my power, letting it consume me fully. I heard the gun go off just as the transformation was complete and my pedes hit the concrete ground, cracking it under the sudden weight. I activated the shield I had on my left arm. The gears and cogs protesting at the rapid deployment. The familiar electric blue glow of the energon shield lit up the darkening warehouse as the plasma blast hit, rocking me backwards slightly. I would need to work on that.

"Autnnek!(1) Enough!" I shouted, lowering my shield, but not deactivating it. I stood up straight. It was no longer time to be Katie the human. It was time to be Deltus Prime, Commander of the Knights of Cybertron.

"Enough. Prowl," Said mech stiffened slightly as I said his name. His optics were locked on me. "I do not know what it is that he said that has you reacting in this way, but the fact that you are online and unharmed should be reason enough to hear us out." I kept my voice calm, but threaded with authority. In this warehouse _I_ was in charge. Not him. Behind me Barricade's ramblings had stopped,. No doubt he was staring at me as much as Prowl was. "Neither of us are your enemy. Certainly not Barricade." I glanced back Barricade. He reminded me of a sparkling afraid of the dark after a nightmare. I gave him a reassuring smile and deactivated my shield. I turned and knelt down next to him.

"It will be alright Barricade." I told him as I place a servo on his shoulder plates. "Prowl." I glanced over my shoulder. "I know not what happened to you that put you in this situation. All I know is what I have seen. You may not believe me, but this mech, Barricade, is your brother." I paused. "You were subjected to a procedure that suppressed your mind, your very personality. In there place, Barricade was created. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the procedure was not done correctly. As a result, your spark split in two."

"That is not possible!" I sighed and stood up, looking Prowl directly in the optics.

"And I should not have been able to go from a human form to this one." His optics widened slightly. "But, as it often goes with me," I muttered. "The impossible isn't quite as unattainable as you would think." I held out my servo and let my power drift across the tips of my digits. "My very existence should be impossible."

"T-that's..." He muttered, taking a small step forward.

"Yes, Prowl. It is what you call Allspark energy." I pulled the power back into me, sealing it away once more. Good thing for me that my ability to shift forms was a 'gift; unrelated to my spark. "I am the what you might call, the original Allspark. It was from my spark the Allspark that you know was created. I know you have a lot of questions, but for now, let's focus on the present. We can discuss the time you are missing later. Right now, repairing your spark, both of your sparks, is our first priority." I held his gaze for a long breem. Eventually he nodded. I smiled at him. "Thank you."

I looked back at Barricade. "See? I promised you that it would work out. You didn't believe me." I knelt back down next to him with a small smile on my lip components.

"R-remind me not to go second guessing you again." I let out a small laugh.

"I think I can do that."


	7. Chapter 7

Prowl stared at the duo. The femme, she had been a small Cybertronian, but had become a normal sized Cybertronian femme. He had watched it happen right in front of him, yet, he couldn't wrap his processor around it. It wasn't until she had turned to address the Decepticon – Former Decepticon, Brother...He wasn't sure what to classify the mech as, yet – that he got the chance to look her over. He recognized her from somewhere, but where?

He wracked his processor. Red and white femme, shield on her left arm, blue optics, city speaker markings, able to speak Ancient Cybertronian...He racked his processor trying to remember why she was familiar to him. A stray thought, drifted through his jumbled processor. His optics widened. It couldn't be...Could it?

He subspaced his gun and pulled out a worn data pad. Something he used as inspiration when he wasn't sure where to start on a new tactical plan. He turned it on, glad to see it still worked. It held some of the most prominent and revolutionary tactics of eras long past. It was something he complied early on in the war, before the Hall of Records was destroyed and with it all of their planets collected knowledge and history.

He flipped though the documents stopping at one in particular. He opened the file, skimming through its contents. It wasn't until he came to one of the few picture files he had found of the Knights of Cybertron, namely the only picture file that supposedly contained the Commander of the Knights. He pulled up the file and zoomed in as much as he could. The picture quality was not the best, the resolution becoming highly pixelated and blurry the more he zoomed in, but he knew who it was that he was he seeing. The red and white armor. The double chevron, the insignia on her armor. He could even make out the presence of markings around her optics. He still remembered the conversation he had had with Alpha Trion, the Head Data Clerk of the Hall of Records, about the photo.

 _"_ _It's a controversial picture. Historians have tried for years to pinpoint who the Commander is, but all records have been lost or destroyed over the years. It's almost like someone doesn't what her identity known." The elder mech had explained._

 _"_ _Her?" He had asked._

 _"_ _This femme here," He pointed to the red and white femme in the front of the group. "She is the only one historians have yet identify."_

 _"_ _Do you have any theories?" He had asked, slightly intrigued by the mystery set before him._

 _"_ _Officially, no." He paused "But personally I believe her to be the infamous Deltus Prime." He had been shocked to hear the old mech say such a thing. After all, they had been taught from a young age about the Great Betrayer. Alpha Trion held up a servo."Now, before you call me a senile old mech, let me pose to you a question;How do you know I'm not right? After all,we have no image files of Deltus Prime. Yet, this femme here, all we have_ is _a picture file. Both lived and operated during the same era. It may just be possible that they are one and the same."_

 _"_ _If your theory is correct, then what about the conflicting information? In one she is a savior to all of Cybertron. The other, a force as destructive as The Fallen." Prowl asked, curiosity deepening. Alpha Trion merely stroked the thin metal sheet that fell from his chin._

 _"_ _That is a tricky one to answer." The older mech responded after a few long moments. "But let me ask you another question; How do we know history got it right?" Prowl only looked at him confused. The old mech chuckled. "Let me phrase it another way. How do we know that what we have been taught is actually what happened? Hmm?" He met Prowl's gaze. "We were not there. So how can we be so certain that she did commit the crimes she was accused of?_

 _All we have is a story and a name. A story that has been told so many times that it may have gained a life of its own, turning into a legend." Alpha Trion optics shown eerily bright in the dim light of the Records Hall. The smile on his lip components twisted up in a way that said that he knew more then he was letting on. "Let me give you a word of advice young Autobot; To believe everything you are told will only serve to get you into trouble. Every story has two sides. The one that is accepted by the general populace, and the truth. Rarely are they the same thing." The old mech turned ad took a few steps before stopping and looking over his shoulder plate. "I should be getting back to my rounds. I hope you found what you are looking for." He remembered watching as the old mech walked away. His words confused him and plagued him for orns on end. It wasn't until several long battles, many of which were lost due to false information, that he understood the 'advice' that Alpha Trion had given him._

He looked up at the femme who was still comforting the mech she claimed was his brother.

"You're Deltus Prime..." He said, just loud enough for her to hear. She turned to him suddenly. He watched her optics widen, brightening with shock. Her frame tensed, as if she were scared he was going to attack her.

"H-how did you know that?" She asked, voice quiet and fearful.

"Alpha Trion." He responded. She shuttered her optics in shock several times before a smile tugged at her lip plates and a soft laugh escaped her.

"O-of course...A-3." She laughed again. "Even now he's looking after me. The old coot." She chuckled softly again.

"What, do you mean by that?" He asked curious. She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the floor.

"Alpha Trion, or A-3, is one of my elder brothers. One of the Original Thirteen. The Archivist." She paused. Her gaze drifted to the far wall, though he suspected that she was seeing something much farther away.

"Then you are the Fourteenth Prime." She looked back at him again, a sad smile on her face.

"Unfortunately." She locked his gaze with hers. "Are you going to kill me?" It was a simple question. It was what they had been told to do if ever they came across her. Yet, Alpha Trion's words echoed in his helm;

' _Every story has two sides. The one that is accepted by the general populace, and the truth. Rarely are they the same thing.'_

As he kept his gaze locked with hers, he saw two things that should never be together: Acceptance and fear. A glance towards Barricade showed that the mech was in a state of shock. Understandable. He returned his optics to the femme, Deltus Prime.

She seemed smaller than she had in the picture file. Gone was the proud stance and regal gaze. Instead, he found himself faced off with a youngling. The look she was giving him spoke volumes, yet held the most important things back. She was guarded, yet openly aware of the situation she was in. It almost reminded him of Bluestreak after they saved him from the rubble of Praxus.

"No." Prowl watched as her optics widen, brightening once more with shock. "I am not going to kill you." Her frame seemed to sag minutely, releasing its tenseness. She simply stared up at him, lip components slightly apart. It wasn't until coolant began to collect in the corners of her optics did he realize the weight his words held.

She bowed her head, coolant slipping down her cheeks to hit the floor. Her shoulder plates shook ever so slightly as silent sobs wracked her frame. Prowl looked over to Barricade, only to see that he was as confused and lost as he was.

()()()

Barricade was beyond shocked. He knew what was said about Deltus Prime. He had heard the stories. Her name was constantly heard within the halls of Decepticon bases all over Cybertron. Yet, even knowing that, even knowing what she had supposedly done, he couldn't see this femme doing any of it. Even if her name was Deltus Prime. There was no way that any mech or femme that was so evil, so bent on destruction, would nearly kill themselves just to save a stranger. He wanted to growl and blame his thoughts on that _thing_ she did, but he honestly believed what he was thinking.

From the stories he had heard, she was supposed to be a cold sparked femme. One that would fix mechs up just to torture them to the brink of death, only to fix them up again and repeat the cycle until the mechs spark gave out. But she hadn't done that. The stories said that she didn't feel emotions. That she was a manipulator. A con artist. But the femme in front of him was was crying openly. Sure, she could be faking it, but the severity of the sobs led him to believe else wise. To him, she looked more like a lost sparkling.

Barricade edged forward, reaching out to place a servo on her shoulder plates. He almost pulled back when she jumped in an almost violent way. The look she gave him when turned her helm, made his energon run cold. When she had told him the secret behind his existence, she had stood tall and spoke with a calm, tone. When, Prowl, woke up, she had been his strength. She had been understanding and kind, but still firm and unyielding. She gave him no pity, only acceptance. Now though, she looked only lost. Almost afraid. He could feel how her frame had tensed up at his touch. He frowned. He didn't like seeing her like this. There were some beings that just shouldn't cry. This femme was one of them.

He reached up with his other servo, digits curling so that only one was partiality extended. She pulled backed slightly, optics flashing with obvious fear. His frown deepened. He never liked seeing youngling hurt, and right now, Katie – Deltus,whichever – looked to much like an abused youngling for his liking.

He brought his servo closer and brushed away a bit of the residual coolant. Her optics widened at the contact as she flinched lightly.

"Easy. Easy. I may be surprised to find out what your name is, but I _know_ you are nothing like the stories I've heard." He said in a low voice, hoping he wasn't going to spook her. "And it ain't that calming effect thing talking either." He added, just to make sure she knew he was serious. He watched her lip component tremble slightly before he was pushed back by a sudden force and pressure against his chest.

"L-lavemi!" He looked down, optics widening. Deltus held onto his armor, fresh coolant running down her face plates. "Lavemi! La-lav-vemi!" She kept saying over and over as she clung to him. "K-koldia ciar s-shixtre, lav-vemi!" Barricade had no idea what to do or what she was saying.

Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around her, causing her to snuggle closer to his chest platting. He glanced to his brother, hoping for a translation.

"She is thanking us." Prowl said, optics trained on the femme, deep in thought.

 _ **"**_ _ **What is it?"**_ Barricade asked, switching to modern Cybertronian, hopping to not upset the femme.

 _ **"**_ _ **I was just thinking how much she looks like youngling right now."**_ Barricade glanced down as the now trembling femme. He had to agree. She was acting like a youngling.

"Hey." He switched back to English, pulling Deltus' attention up to him. "If you keep acting like that, we might just treating you like a youngling." He said, trying to ignore Prowl's glare. Deltus looked up at him confused for a moment before a small watery laugh escaped her.

"A-actually, that might be more appropriate then you think." Both mechs stiffened.

"Deltus." Prowl said, stepping closer and kneeling down. "Are you saying that you were prematurely upgraded?" Barricade felt his spark sputter as she nodded her helm.

"There was no one else left. All the others had left to explore the cosmos. I was the only Prime left on Cybertron." She started to explain, her voice quiet, timid. "I had to do what I thought was best to protect our home." She sounded so small. Prowl laid a servo on her shoulder.

"You did well." Prowl said gently. "Actually, you may find this, weird, but I keep a copy of the tactics that the Knights used on me for inspiration. When I can not think of new ways to push back against the Decepticons, I would read through it. Often, it was the bases for many of the battle plans I have came up with."

"R-really?" She asked, looking up at Prowl in awe. "I, I mean, Street Cred did most of it. He was really good when it came to tactics."

"Street Cred?" Barricade asked. Deltus looked up at him, optics brightening ever so slightly.

"He was my second in command and my main traction. He wasn't always the easiest to get a long with, and often made comments that got him in trouble with the others, but he meant well. And he always tried to get everybody home in one piece." Both mechs shared a glance. Neither could decide if she sounded like a sparkling going on about her hero or a commander praising a trusted solider. Maybe a bit of both.

"Is, is it true that you pushed the enemy back at the Hydrax plateau with only a group of fifty mechs?" Prowl asked with a little hesitation.

"Ya. It was not an easy battle. It's amazing we only had a couple of casualties. It was the terrain made all the difference."

That evening was spent trading stories of battles long over, surprising turns of events, and extraordinary feats. The displeasure of only a few joors earlier forgotten for the time being.


End file.
